CMS program prepares students for college classes, life

This is the first week Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools students can start applying for magnet schools and another honors program where students spend part of high school in college.

Cato Middle College high School in Charlotte offers students college credit and real world experience on campus.

Stephen Niday, 17, is one of the students enrolled at Cato.

“You can take several different classes, basically anything that CPCC offers,” he said.

The program is an initiative with Central Piedmont Community College and its goal is to give students on-campus experience early.

CMS juniors and seniors finish their high school classes on the Cato Campus on Grier Road and earn college credit in courses all over CPCC’s campuses.

Niday will graduate in May with approximately 25 hours of college credit.

“It’s helped me be actually preparing me, getting me ready to go off to college because before I was kind of, I was actually worried about it,” he said.

Senior Salma Hashi also feels ahead of her peers.

She is learning about time management in the college world because she has both morning and night classes.

“We’ve been really oriented here. There’s not much that would shock me at a college campus. It’s a lot more diverse I think, and there’s a lot more freedom when it comes to students,” Hashi said.

To join the program, students must be a junior or senior at a CMS school, earn a 3 or higher on all end-of-course tests, have a 2.5 grade point average and a clean disciplinary record.

“As Principal Joseph Burch walked around Cato’s campus, he said the school leaves a lasting impact before teens venture to a four-year college.

“It’s going to be routine for them and I think that’ll make a big, big difference, especially with what we know about the dropout rate of first-year college students,” he said.

If you’d like to learn more about Cato Middle College High School, visit their website.

Also, the school will have an informational booth set up at the CMS Magnet Fair, on Saturday, Jan. 7 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Phillip O. Berry Academy.